2- Anomalous Results

Major sat there in silence, taking in the words that Mari said. She released her grip on his throat and her arm flopped back down to her sides like she'd lost all muscular power. Her eyelids were flickering and she looked as if she could drift off to sleep at any moment, surrounded by the mess she created physically and the one he created metaphorically.

She was visually struggling with her life, the anniversary of a loved ones passing is never the best day for anyone. She picked up the image of her sister, and stared deeply into it. Not a tear rolled down her eye, she hadn't any left to cry anymore, her tear ducts were a desert, swallowing up any moisture, like her heart was made of sand.

Major stood up from the bed and walked out of the room. He once felt full of energy, not a few minutes ago. Now he felt as if he were air itself, requiring too much energy to breathe. Life can be a cruel thing, but also beautiful. Major walked onto the balcony of her apartment, staring at the sleepless city beneath him. Every person in the world is living their own life and their own story. Each and every one, the main character in their own story. Well not everyone, Major felt as if he was always second in line when it came to importance.

He looked over the balcony to the floor at the bottom. An empty pavement, sitting only six stories below him. it was as if all of the solutions to the universe were staring back up to him. Even though it shouldn't kill him, we wasn't in the mindset to believe in opportunity.

What Mari had said, what he had done... Everything in life was eating him up right now, like he'd lost the game. That mans face, the sheer terror in his eyes when on his deathbed. They weren't the eyes of a killer or man eater. They were the eyes of prey, preparing their untimely death.

He was just following orders, like he always had. Mindlessly being told what to do and when to do it, like a lapdog to society and squashed under its thumb. He thought about this, about his freedom and how much of it he actually had. Was he free to do whatever he pleased? Major felt a tear run down his face, only a single tear. It ran down his cheek quickly and dropped onto the wooden slats below him. He thought about the tear, he wasn't sure who it was for though.

Major unzipped the pocket of his trousers and pulled out his mobile phone. The many miss calls on his home page stared him in the face as he replayed how he was going to speak in the conversation. The many ways the next few minutes could go. He dialled to his house phone. Before seconds the call was answered.

"Hi Mum."

"Oh my god, is that you! Are you safe, are you okay. Speak to me!"

"Yea, I'm fine mum."

"Why haven't you been answering us."

"Mum."

"We've called you over and over and over..."

"Mum."

"We've been sick to our stomach at home. We were going to phone the police and..."

"Mum."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I was turned."

"Turned?"

"I'm one of them. I'm infected."

"Please don't joke around with me. Its not fun..."

"Mum."

"You're being serious aren't you."

"Yeah."

"Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm feeling sick. Oh my god."

"Mum. Are we the good guys?"

"I don't know right now, I just don't know. Where are you?"

"I'm at Mari's place. I'm safe."

"Please come home my baby please."

"Okay. I'm coming." Major put the phone down and slid it into his pocket and stared up at the night sky. Rain was starting to fall. He felt the droplets splash onto his skin and roll down his face, like the heavens were weeping for him.

He went inside and grabbed his jacket from the sofa. Catching a glimpse of the still, frozen solid Mari, he decided to leave without saying anything, maybe its best to leave her to herself right now. The rucksack laying on the floor next to a coffee table was picked up and slung over one shoulder and out the door he went, into the world.

By the time he was on the bottom floor of the apartment complex, the rain was much heavier. He pulled his hood over his shaggy brown hair and looked down on the ground as he walked home. After the events of tonight, he needed a walk to clear his head. Even though the world was minding its business, he felt as if everyone around him were staring straight into his eyes, like he was made to feel different, and unaccepted. The icy winds and rain were not bothering him anymore, his body had developed past being affected by extreme conditions. It seems that zombies could easily withstand that which humans could not. Even though he wasn't cold on the outside, the inside was a palace of ice, like his feelings were being frozen in time. The time immemorial walk home, full of emotion and sorrow.

The faces of his victims were perfectly present in his mind, faces he once forgot. He turned down to his road and saw his home as a final stretch, not knowing if it was going to be the problem or the solution. He hesitated before knocking on the door, holding his fist up to the door and pausing on the doorstep. He looked at his feet as the rain fell around him, for the first time in his life, he was scared to go home. After a deep breath, he built up the courage and knocked on the door. 

It swung open immediately and his mother threw her arms around him, squeezing him tighter than she had ever done before. He felt tears falling from his eyes, the fear of not being accepted was eating him up for the entire journey, but now, he felt as if he had one safe place to call home again. He broke the first genuine smile he had since he woke up.

His father made them all a warm cup of tea, which was a surprise to them all. Major felt much better in the presence of two people he knew he could completely trust. He sipped the tea slowly and was completely unaffected by the heat of the drink, which would normally burn his mouth. The room had a comforting silence with a dark looming presence of the future and the fate of their family. "Mum, Dad. Were not the good guys are we?" Major had this question on his mind.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"The person."

"What do you mean?"

"Regardless of who you are, and what place you come from. You choose to be either good or not. I was never a fan of you for working at that agency. I know it was good money and I know you had the skills necessary to do well. But. You're taking lives for work. I don't believe that many people deserve death."

"Yeah."

"But don't get down, I can tell that you're regretting something. You have that same look that you always have when you regret something."

"Yeah."

She reached her hand over and held his, squeezing it softly. "I know you're not a bad person, its just a job and you were just following orders, whoever didn't do the research that would've showed that the people were innocent, its on them. Not you. You trusted them and they wronged you and now you're feeling the repercussions instead of them."

"Its not fair, is it?"

"No, its not." She smiled at him and he caught his fathers face doing the same. He was starting to feel warmer inside again, like he did when he was a young lad. It brought him back to his early years, when things were much simpler and there were less worries in the world and around him. He envied his younger self. 

Even though he didn't sleep anymore, he decided to go to bed anyway. Just laying there awake and completely full of energy. It was a strange phenomenon, one that he couldn't really place his mind on yet, though he was sure that he would get used to it in time. Major thought back to his childhood, back to when he was much happier and more content with his life. When things were simple and each new day was a new adventure, a new realm to explore in an endless cycle of learning and fun. Thinking deeply about it, Major wished he could start over from that time again, maybe he would've ended up in a much better way. He thought about what he would've lost if he had that chance, his mind flicked to Aureli's face, his partner in crime and best friend. Feeling his stomach sink, he realised that he wouldn't change that after all, even if he had the chance to. 

He threw himself up in bed all of a sudden as he came to a realisation. He was seeing everything from the wrong perspective. He had been given a new chance, a chance to start again and put things right. He wasn't a human anymore, but he still had the things he did care about. His existence itself was a crime, and when you're life is a crime, then anything is game. With that slight bit of contempt and a spark of excitement, he decided to close his eyes and rest for the night, thinking about the possibilities.

Reality was setting in though, he had the idea but no execution. At around nine o'clock, Major decided to get out of bed and start the day like any other. He knew that his life was at risk and a course of thoughts were running through his head. He knew that in order to properly survive in this new life, he needed to use his brain for the first time and make his own decisions, he needed allies that he could trust and connections that would benefit him. As he was frying up a batch of pancakes, he was receiving a call from Mari. 

He picked up and held the phone between his shoulder and head like a mother tends to do when they're busy. "Hello, is that you Major?" Maris voice had more life in it than before, like she was back to her old self.

"You dialled my number, who were you expecting?" Major raised an eyebrow to her comment. He was confused to why she was calling him in general, and also why the full change of heart. She seemed yesterday like that was the last time they'd ever speak. The way she portrayed herself in a way that she never wanted to see him again. "You called?" Major wasn't being too friendly with her anymore, just to be safe. She wiped the floor with him last time and he didn't exactly feel any stronger than he did before he was turned so there was almost no guarantee that he'd win in a fight.

"Can we meet up again today? There's something I want to show you, it's... really important." She seemed genuine when she spoke but that holds little value anymore, she fooled Major for a long time by seeming genuine which is a very cheap emotion to put on it seems. Although, after living the life she has, faking a personality is probably as easy as breathing is for her. Last night was the first time Major had seen her break character and act like her true self, a young and depressed shut in, haunted by her own existence.

"Fine, where and when." Major had many reasons not to accept, but curiosity killed the cat and in fairness, she turned him to a zombie instead of just killing him off completely, she didn't need to do that at all, there was obviously some sort of motive behind it.

"Now, and outside of your front door." Major walked over to his door and let her into the house. 

"Do make yourself at home." Major spoke in a sarcastic tone as he wasn't exactly expecting her to just show up at his door uninvited again, especially not after last night. "Oh and also, we're the only ones awake so you can just drop the sweet girl act now, I know what you're really like."

She went from a sat up and proper posture to just lounging all over his sofa, really taking the 'Make yourself at home' to heart. "So then, what's on the menu chef Ramsay?" She was staring at her nails in a bored and childish sort of way, completely unlike what she used to be before. She used to always seem so proper and elegant. Truth is, she's just a lazy slob that doesn't hold life in much of a high regard. Can you blame her, she has a permanent target on her back.

"Pancakes, want any?" Major flipped a pancake in the frying pan and started to prepare lemon curd and sweetener for them.

"Nah, just a glass of milk is fine." She pulled up her phone and started scrolling through social media like a shut in teenager.

"Manners." Major walked in with the food and the drinks. "Also, I have a question. Why are we called zombies? Were not are we? When you think of a zombie, they're mindless and constantly on the hunt. Were not even that different from humans. What are we really." Major sat down with a plate of pancakes and started chowing down.

"Dunno, we don't have an official name, so we just stuck with all the nicknames that we were given, but no, were not like the zombies from the movies." She sipped the milk and carried on scrolling through social media.

"So, why are you here anyway, you wanted to show me something important." 

"Yeah, i do. But get a glass of milk first."

"Why?"

"Because normal food doesn't fill us up. Only Milk does."

"That's odd."

"Not really, considering that all mammals start by drinking milk. It's the most nutritious nectar for us. It makes sense"

"Fine." Major went to get a glass of milk and downed it, quenching his hunger completely."

"Okay, lets head out. There's someone you need to meet."

Major grabbed a jacket and headed out of the door with her in tow. They walked to the closest train station and hopped on the next underground train. The journey was quiet, not many words shared by the two at all. For the first time, Major felt like he was blending in. It was the first time he had to try to act normal, which is hard when you're consciously trying to do so. He found himself fidgeting a lot and breaking out into a cold sweat for no reason. People weren't taking much notice of him at all but it was clear that he was in an uncomfortable way. Luckily the train journey wasn't that long they were off onto the platform in a relatively short time. 

They found themselves in possibly the last place they wanted to be in. The slummiest slum in the city, The Kings Grail. As soon as they left the station, the reality of life quickly set in. Although everyone in the city knew of this place, not many dared to go anywhere near it. Its reputations massively preceded it as the worst place in the city. Not even news outlets wanted to go anywhere near the place with camera teams out of fear of robbery or much much worse. 

Walking through, it was like something out of a movie set, people laying on the streets, dust and dirt everywhere. Barely a fixed house to go around. Dead bodies that no one wanted to clear up. The whole experience shocked Major to the core and it was no wonder they were getting such looks when they got off at this station. They saw knives, guns and drugs scattered all over people, not daring to live without a weapon in arms. "Just follow me Major. Don't say a word." He nodded in agreement and followed her down a dark alleyway. Two homeless people tried to grab at his ankles as he walked but were too weak to make a sustainable grip. 

Once they were out of ear-shot, Mari started making conversation. "Welcome to the place where infected come from. No idea if this is the start, but its definitely the highest flow of infected people. I mean think about it. We only need milk so survive, that's a lot cheaper than food, clean water and a shelter." She was walking in front, leading them to the other side of the buildings.

"I guess so, if I were them, i'd be begging to be turned as well." Majors mind flashed images of what he'd just seen, he didn't even know that these sort of places really existed, let alone in the city he calls home. "So, who am I meeting?"

"A friend of mine, he's sort of the ringleader around these parts, keeps infected out of trouble and helps them survive the purge." 

"What's that?"

"Never heard of it? I though you were an Agency member."

"I don't work in these parts. This is run by a different agency building entirely, I work much closer to where I live so no, I haven't heard of it at all." Major was a bit confused by this, ""I thought this would be a much bigger thing if a purge was really happening."" He realised that he may not know as much as he thought about the agency.

"Well to be completely honest, its exactly what it sounds like, the agency storm through these areas and kill as many infected as they possible can. Its a strategy that unfortunately is extremely successful and they manage to kill quite a few people every time. We're here today, because it's the day of the purge." 

"Hardly a good friend move, lead me straight into my death. Potentially."

"Well I was expecting you to know more about the purge, so that you could help us get out."

"Cant we just leave this part of the city? Like not be where the purge takes place?" Major found their strategies to be strange and almost suicidal. This was still part of a much larger city at the end of the day.

"Negative, they surround the border of the area. Anyone who tries to leave, human or not, is gunned down on the spot. Its barbaric honestly." She frowned and looked at the floor below her.

"Really barbaric..." Major was stunned at the fact he had no idea that this happened. Within the company he worked for. There must be a lot of hushing going around. ""How many people actually support the work of the Agency. I thought there was a deep sense of public loyalty towards them, but I might've got that fact wrong. Was I more brainwashed that I thought. No, no, no. This is too big of a deal, a purge, in London and no one knows about it. This is wrong, this is seriously wrong.""

"Okay i'll help the best I can, I've no idea what I'm about to see but i'll try my best to get people out of danger."

"Good, because those people in the street earlier, they're armed because there's a resistance today. The person I told you about is staging an uprising. We're fighting back, and as an ex agency exterminator, you're going to help us."

Major thought about the feeling he felt this morning. That sense of a chance, a new beginning. The potential to start on the right track, and live life doing the correct thing. He broke a smile, this morning he felt that he lacked the reason to start anew, but he now felt as if he just found the solution he was looking for. "I'm ready to make the right decision."

"Good, we're nearly there now. just round this alleyway."

They turned the next corner and what stood before them can only be described as a horror set. The entire street was filled with malnourished people, full of injuries. Major for the first time understood why they were given the nickname Zombies. These people were ripped to shreds, some had barely any skin and flesh on their bones. They were mindless too, like there was no consciousness in their heads, just sitting there, alive and breathing, no movement, no emotion. There were entire families there with children, all sitting there scared and hungry, unsure whether today was to be their last. Major had never realised that this was the life that some infected people had to live. These people, defenceless in nature were to be slaughtered if the agency got the chance. "So, Major, this is the community of infected we have here." There were hundreds of people scattered all over this alleyway. Barely ten people out of the group looked to be in decent health, the rest, just living corpses. One, young adult caught the eye of Mari and Major and started to walk over. He had black bob length shaggy hair and droopy clothing like it was ten sizes too large for him. 

Major clenched his fist, not knowing what his demeanour was. "Major, this is who i wanted you to meet. This is Derek, he's the guy who runs this place and also the man in charge of the resistance today." Derek held his hand out for a hand shake. Major shook his hand then felt a tight squeeze, crushing the bones in his hand on the spot. Major slapped his hand away.

"Are you insane?!"

"Yes. That was for killing some of my friends. Follow me." Major looked over to Mari who nodded her head in agreement so he followed the shaggy haired dude further down the alleyway. "Over three hundred people here in this very alleyway. Only a percentage of the infected folk who live here in the Kings Grail. Look at them, barely any life. But that can change today." Derek swung around and faced him with a smile. "You were an agency member. That means you know how to fight your own kind better than we do. You're going to help us."

Even though Major was going to help regardless, he still wanted to know what Derek's demeanour was. "And if i refuse?" Derek fake smiled at him, then went over to a nearby family and picked up one of the children and held him in his arms, the boy he picked up was only around 5 or 6 in age, and heavily wounded, missing a forearm, a foot and had heavy chest injuries.

"This is Tommy, he was born a zombie to those two people over there, he's never hurt a soul in his life, only turned six a few months ago. (He leaned into whisper into his ear) They'd slaughter him the first chance they got." He ran his finger across the boys throat in a gesture for death. He returned the kid to his parents "No hesitation, one slice and no more Tommy anymore. Finito. Done. And you, with all the knowledge in the world about the agency and their affairs, you'd just leave and be done with it. That's a real shame. Maybe you are still just like the rest of them. Like the other monsters in that place." 

Major grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer. "I know people in there that are just as brainwashed as I was. Don't you DARE call them monsters. You hear me." 

Derek lost focus to his eyes and looked at the ground beneath them. "What you gonna do about it then? Save them? Or watch as they come here today, and slaughter little Tommy and all his friends. Or what if they get his parents and he grows up all alone forever. What are you gonna do about it? Huh? Because, I know that your agency are assigned to todays purge. You gonna watch your 'brainwashed' friends kill these innocent people?"

Major released him. "No, I'm stopping this purge..."